Hey everybody, new to the forums here, happy to say that I have discovered a new hobby that I'm extremely excited about! A few months ago a buddy of mine insisted we go on a bike ride. Having not ridden a bike since middle school (23 now) I was very hesitant. I have let myself get out of shape and although I'm not over-weight, I might as well be since a couple flight of stairs can have my heart racing and trying to catch my breath. So reluctantly I decided to give it a shot and just see how things went, he assured me we would go at my pace. Well needless to say 5 minutes into the ride I was grinning ear to ear and knew right then and there that I need to get back on a bicycle, not only for my physical health but mentally as well, as it turned out. I was amazed at how well I felt during and after the ride, completely stress free. So I went home that night and started reading everything I could on different bikes and daydreaming about all the riding I'll do, the places I'll go and the freedom it will bring!

So here I am a couple months later, unfortunately still no bike but I sure have been doing a lot of studying. I've hit about 4 LBS in the area and have been trying to narrow down exactly what I want/need. If I've learned anything these few months reading these and other forums, it's that I'm shopping for not only the bike, but a bike shop to go along with it. I know one thing for sure, I definitely want a road bike. At first I was interested in a single speed, but after talking to the guys at a LBS, he made a ton of sense when he said "If I could only have one bike, It would definitely be a road bike", and then rattled off all the pros and cons of the bikes.

My goal is to one day be able to do a lot of my commuting by bike and cut out driving as much as possible. I also want to ride long distances and even get involved in a club perhaps. Maybe even eventually get competitive. But for now I'm just concerned with getting my first road bike and riding around locally, just for fun.

I probably will be making my purchase in the next few months considering now is probably a better time then ever to buy a bike. There is last years stock to choose from if I so wish, and there is just better deals since its the down time of the year. I think I have everything figured out (hopefully!) but there are a few things that I need some answers for, hence registering on these forums! From what I can tell this place is full of educated people on the topic so I think I'm in the right place . Anyways other then my introduction I guess I have a few questions for you guys (and gals).

First off I know what kind of bike I want and I think I have even narrowed down the exact model but what I'm really curious to is, if I am in between sizes, what are the pros and cons of going bigger or smaller on a bike. I know that you can make a smaller bike bigger but you cant make a bigger bike smaller, but is there anymore to it then that? And one more question for now, since I am buying my first bike how much should I spend? I know there are a ton of factors that come in to play but what I'm trying to get at is, should I spend as much as I can and get the best bike I can now, or maybe go a little more reasonable and get something a little more affordable, that way I can get other accessories to go with? So the price range would be like a $500 bike compared to a $1,000 bike.

That's all for now, sorry for the giant first post! Thanks everyone for your posts and I hope to have a great time getting to know you all and start on my road to cycling!!

A $600 bike from a local LBS is plenty. Since the other stuff adds up.
If you really get into cycling you will be buying a second bike sometime later.

I'd say get the best bike you can afford right now. If you settle on a cheaper bike now and think "I'll just upgrade x & x later" you will spend way more than just going for the best bike now. IMO.

You can get a Sora/Tiagra bike of last year's model for $700, probably. In my opinion, this groupset is decent because it gives you nine speeds instead of eight (2300 groupset). I've also ridden Sora/Tiagra. It works well if it's tuned and set up correctly. If you can, you may want to get Tiagra shifters because Sora comes with thumb shifters instead of paddle shifters. Worth the extra cost in my opinion.

If you're are in between sizes, I'd go with the smaller one. The only real drawback of running a longer seatpost and stem is that you may have a bit of saddle to bar drop. It really depends on how each size fits though. If the bigger one fits better than smaller one, go with the bigger size. If you're indifferent, go with the smaller one. That way if you become more flexible you can begin lowering the stem, which could be limited with a larger frame.

When I was looking at bikes, the manager told me to go w/the larger bike because it would ride better and handle a bit more stable for a newer rider. I don't know how true that is, but everyone on BF advises to go w/smaller. If you are flexible, I'd say smaller too.